Surrey Scorchers survived a fourth quarter scare to see off the Sheffield Sharks 82-75 on Friday night, as they returned to BBL Championship action with a victory on home court.
Despite holding a double-digit lead for most of the evening, the Scorchers made just three field goals in the fourth quarter, which included almost seven scoreless minutes. Malek Green lead the fightback for the Sharks, but they'd left themselves a little bit too much to do as the Scorchers held on for the win.
Sheffield struggled with their shooting in the early stages and Saiquan Jamison's work on the boards was giving Surrey the chance to build a commanding lead. A couple of three-pointers from Justin Robinson set the tone and kicked the home team into gear.
After the commercial time out the Scorchers continued with their hot shooting. Quin Cooper went three of four from downtown, with Andrew Lawrence adding a long-range two, as Surrey ended the quarter with a 28-13 lead.
Sheffield made a better start to the second quarter, as Rodney Glasgow landed the visitors' first three-pointer of the game. This was the start of an 8-2 run for them as the lead was cut to 8 points.
Surrey responded with Robinson and Jamison restoring a double digit advantage. Despite the Sharks getting far more joy in the mid-range, Surrey continued to knock down enough three-pointers to maintain their lead heading into half time.
Abdul Mohamed opened the second half with a three-pointer for the hosts and Robinson continued his hot shooting the Scorchers tightened their grip on the contest.
Surrey refused to let up and Jamison, who had been dominating the boards all game, found his scoring touch too. He hit five consecutive points as the lead ballooned to 22 points. It looked as if the game was over as we headed into the fourth.
After trading buckets to begin the period, the Sharks began to find their rhythm. A nicely worked transition bucket was part of a 10-0 run that saw them cut the Scorchers lead to 11 mid-way through the quarter.
Surrey were really struggling with their shooting and Malek Green continued to chip away at their lead, as the momentum fully shifted into the visitors' favour down the stretch.
Almost seven scoreless minutes saw the lead slashed to six, before Andrew Lawrence finally put some points on the board for the hosts. Sheffield refused to go away and the Scorchers were forced to hit free throws in a tense finale to secure the win.
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